Restart and Try Again
by azure37410
Summary: After being killed by Byakuran, the words "You lost the game" were the very last thing Skull had expected to see. Crossover between KHR, The Gamer, and No Game No Life.
1. Chapter 1

**Yeah, I have no clue why I'm doing this. XP This idea just came to me, and I was gonna put it in my Idea Dump, but, hey, why the hell not?**

 **This is going to be a crossover between Katekyo Hitman Reborn, The Gamer, and No Game No Life. And it's gonna be starring Skull, obviously...**

 **This is going to be more humorous than serious. And it's sort of a side thing, so updates will be slow at best. At this point in time, I'm not even sure where I'm even going to go with this, so suggestions would be appreciated as well. XP**

 **As for pairings... It'll probably be Arcobaleno/Skull. Nothing explicit or anything (this is rated T!).**

 **Seriously, though, I have no idea why I'm doing this. I hope people like it. XP**

 **I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn, The Gamer, No Game No Life, or the cover image.**

 **XXX**

Restart and Try Again

Chapter 1: You Lost the Game

XXX

In most of the infinite number of parallel worlds there are, the Cloud Arcobaleno is the first to have his life snuffed out by Byakuran. It's the most probable outcome. He is the weakest of the current generation of Arcobaleno, after all.

Not all parallel worlds follow this norm, however. There are some worlds where he is the fourth, or fifth killed. Worlds where he was never killed. Worlds where he never became an Arcobaleno. Worlds where he was never even _born_.

We will not be looking at any of those worlds, however. Instead it will be about a world where Skull was the very last to be killed by this psychopath.

In this world, Lal was the first to die. She was strong, but no match for all seven of the Mare Ring holders. Colonnello died right after her, killed trying to avenge her. Next was Verde, who, when it came to fighting, was no match for them. Fon was killed next, and after that was Viper, who killed himself, seeing the entire situation as hopeless. Reborn was killed afterwards, though he put up the best fight of them all. He is the strongest of the Arcobaleno for a reason.

Skull in this world was the very last to die. It wasn't because he was stronger than the others, or smarter than the others, or more durable than the others. It was because he did the intelligent thing to do in such a hopeless situation: run and hide.

This kept him alive for a much longer time than his parallel selves, but he would be lying if he said that he didn't hate himself for it. He felt like the stupid coward that the other Arcobaleno always treated him as.

By the time Byakuran finally caught up to him, he was more or less ready for it. His fellow Arcobaleno were dead, he couldn't protect himself, and he was just so _tired_ of the constant running and hiding.

He had his regrets, though, as he watched those sky flames heading towards him, ready to engulf him and leave nothing but his pacifier behind. He regreted that he was unable to do anything to protect himself or the other Arcobaleno. He may have hated the way they treated him, but they sure as hell didn't deserve _this_.

Skull wasn't someone who would claim that he knew what would happen after he died. Maybe go to heaven, maybe see people he knew who'd died, maybe become a ghost, or maybe nothing would happen at all and the world would just keep turning regardless.

But whatever it was he was expecting, it definitely wasn't _this_.

XXX

"What the hell?"

That was the only thing he could really say at the moment. He was in only what he could describe as a dark oblivion, with only two things inside it. One was himself, of course. The second was four big words in front of him that were outlined entirely in white, making them look like a sort of beacon.

 _You lost the game!_

"No, seriously, what the hell?" Skull said again, reaching a hand towards the words. As soon as he touched them, though, they disappeared. The Cloud Arcobaleno snapped back his hand just as some more words appeared in their place.

 _Would you like to play again?_

 _Yes or no?_

"Uh...yes, I guess?" Skull said in complete and utter confusion, watching as the words changed once again.

 _Welcome! I see you died. Must suck, huh?_

"Um, I, uh..." Skull slowly looked around the black oblivion. "Who are you?"

 _I'm kind of a god, I guess._

"A _what_?!" Skull guffawed. "You're _god_?!"

 _No, I'm not_ god _. I'm_ a _god. There's a difference, you know!_

"S-So, you're a god...?" Skull stuttered. He was silent for a moment before letting out a loud groan and running a hand through his hair. "I know I'm dead now, but still...I didn't really expect to meet god..."

A _god. Look, I'm kinda offering you a chance at life here. You may wanna hear me out?_

"R-Really?" Skull asked, eyes wide in disbelief. "But...why?"

 _A good question. Tell me, have you ever heard of an Ability User?_

Skull paused and frowned. "A what?"

 _An Ability User. You see, there are many different kinds of gods. Gods of fire, of water, of light, and so on. Sometimes, we decide to let humans have powers similar to ours. These kinds of humans are called Ability Users. Are you following me?_

"More or less... To be honest, I think I'm still kind of in shock about the whole meeting a god thing..." Skull admitted.

 _Eh, that's fine. You'll probably suffer your mental breakdown once the shock wears off._

"That's...not comforting at all," Skull muttered.

 _Anyway, gods generally create Ability Users for two reasons. If there's a big, world-crushing disaster, for instance, although those are rare. The second reason is that that particular god found a human who he or she likes or thinks is worthy of those powers. But, sometimes, they don't even have a reason for doing it, but I'll get back to that later. I'm here to offer you a chance to become an Ability User!_

"Whoa, seriously?!" Skull exclaimed in complete and utter disbelief. "Wh-Why me, though? And how is that even possible if I'm dead now?"

 _Haven't you been listening? I'm offering you another chance at life! Don't you want to save your comrades from Byakuran this time around?_

The violet-haired boy paused at that. "Well...yeah, of course I do."

 _Even if they bully your? Or belittle you? Or even attack you?_

"I...well..." It was true that the other Arcobaleno bullied and belittled him, never taking him seriously. Reborn and Colonnello always beat him up whenever he did anything that they considered wrong or cowardly.

Lal sometimes scolded them for it, but she never really tried to stop them. Fon was polite to him, but he never did anything to stop them either. Fon was nice whenever he talked to Skull, but most of the time he just kind of ignored him.

Viper and Verde both saw him as just some idiot and usually ignored him. Unless of course they were messing with him with illusions (Viper) or insulting his intelligence (Verde).

"To be honest..." Skull muttered, frowning at the memories. He hesitated for a long moment before saying what he had been wanting to say from the moment he had met Reborn and the others. "...The other Arcobaleno are _assholes_."

 _Really?_

"Yeah, complete assholes!" Skull repeated, crossing his arms and huffing. "All they do is insult me and treat me like their lackey! I am not _anyone's_ lackey! And they beat me up just because I can't fight like they can! Especially Reborn! That guy's a _dick_!"

 _Wow, sounds like you really hate them._

Skull froze for a moment before shaking his head. "Hate? Nah, I don't hate them."

 _Really? You've pretty much done nothing but insult them._

"I said that they're assholes and that Reborn's a dick. That wasn't insulting them, those are just _facts_ ," Skull defended, putting his hands on his sides and frowning. "But saying I hate them is kind of harsh. I mean, I've met worse people. I've already accepted that the Arcobaleno are just natural assholes a long time ago."

 _Huh... You're kind of a weird guy, aren't you?_

Skull glared at the floating words in irritation. "Hey..."

 _Not that that's a bad thing. In fact, it makes it all the better._

The Cloud Arcobaleno blinked in confusion. "Wait, what do you mean by that?"

 _Oh, nothing. Don't worry about it. Anyway, I'll ask again. Are you willing to go back and try to save them? If you don't, that won't change the fact that I'll be willing to send you back and make you into an Ability User. I'm just curious._

Skull frowned and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Wait, if that's not the reason you're sending me back, then what _is_?"

 _There's no point in telling you if you refuse. So, if you wanna know, you have no choice but to accept my offer._

Even though all Skull could see of the god were the white words floating in front of him, he could just imagine him or her having a giant smirk on their face at this. That image made his eye twitch as he glared at the words.

The Cloud Arcobaleno then sighed and nodded. "Yeah, well, I just so happen to _like_ being alive, so I'll accept your offer. And as for the other Arcobaleno..."

Skull winced as he thought of Byakuran. That man was a monster, no other word could describe him. Even if he became an Ability User and became strong enough to fight, could he really win against someone like that. He really, really, _really_ doubted it. But...

"Well, I don't make any promises, but I'll try..."

 _Excellent! I'll be sending you back to one week before you first meet the Arcobaleno._

Skull's eyes widened. "W-Wait! Right now? But I still have a lot more questions!"

 _Don't worry, I'll explain everything to you later. Until then!_

With that, the words disappeared, the black oblivion was filled with a blinding light, and Skull knew no more.

 **XXX**

 **Hm, well, there's the first chapter. :/ ...No flames, please?**

 **Yeah, the way Ability Users work in this fic is different than how they work in The Gamer, but, hey. XP I wanna make a kind of humorous friendship between Skull and the Mystery God (Although, if you've watched No Game No Life, you should be able to guess who he is :P).**

 **I still really have no idea why I'm writing this. -.-**


	2. Chapter 2

**Dang, I got a ton of followers after the first chapter! Skull's more popular than I thought... XD**

 **nekozr: Yeah. To be fair, it was kinda obvious. XP**

 **IAmACrazyFan: I have no idea why, but when you called Skull a flame beast, I immediately got an image of Skull going all Izuna on Byakuran's ass. Holy crap, that would actually be pretty epic. O.O**

 **suntan140: He'll probably be the type of guy who doesn't know that other people think he's badass. XP**

 **QuirkyKit: I know, right?! No Game No Life is awesome! XD**

 **Failing Wings: Well, actually, I had the idea for this fic long before the one in the Idea Dump. XP**

 **XXX**

Restart and Try Again

Chapter 2: God of Games

XXX

"Ugh... God, my head..." Skull groaned, wincing as he sat up and placed a hand on his forehead, eyes squeezed shut. "What the hell happened?"

 _Good morning!_

"Wha!" Skull jumped in surprise, causing him to fall off the bed and onto his back on the hard, wooden ground. "Ow... _bitch_!"

 _That looked like it hurt._

"No freaking duh!" Skull shouted before his eyes shot open and he looked around wildly. Slowly, he remembered what had just happened. "...God?"

 _Yep, that's me! I'd like it better if you called me by my name, though._

"Gods have names?" Skull asked as he stood up and rubbed his head, looking around. He recognized this place. It was a hotel he had been staying at all those years ago while he had been waiting for the day the Arcobaleno would all meet each other. Back to the matter at hand, though. "What is it?"

 _Tet._

"Tet, huh...?" Skull repeated, frowning. The voice in his head sounded like that of a twelve-year-old boy, nothing like he imagined a god would sound. But, considering the feeling he got from him during their first conversation, he thought it fit his personality. "So...you can talk in my mind?"

 _Yeah! Think of it as a sort of telepathy. You can do it, too, you know. Go ahead and try to transfer your thoughts to me._

"Transfer? How in the hell do I do that?"

 _It's just a fancy way of saying to think your words instead of saying them out loud._

"Oh, really? That's pretty convenient."

 _Yeah. I mean, you don't want people thinking that you're some crazy wack job who's always talking to himself, do you?_

"..."

 _Glaring at nothing isn't really going to help your case much, either._

"...Shut up," Skull grumbled before sighing and trying it out. _'Alright, here. Can you hear me?'_

 _Good job! You've officially learned how to use your inside voice!_

"..."

 _Hey, what did I say about glaring at nothing? You don't need people saying things!_

 _'...Whatever. Oh, by the way,'_ he thought, suddenly sounding very interested. _'You said that Ability Users have the same kind of powers the gods have, right?'_

 _Well, that's not_ exactly _right. We give them powers_ similar _to ours. If we gave humans all the powers of a_ god _, it probably wouldn't end too well. Lots of people going crazy with power and then doing something stupid. Like trying to take over the world or something._

Skull arched an eyebrow. _'I thought that was just in cartoons... Are there really people who'd try to do something like that?'_

 _You'd be surprised._

 _'...Well, I don't think I'll ever meet anyone like that anyway,'_ Skull replied offhandedly as he stood up and sat down on the edge of the bed. _'So what kind of god are you? Fire?'_

 _Nope._

 _'Water?'_

 _No._

 _'Electricity?'_

 _Nu-uh._

 _'Hmm... Animals?'_

 _No- Wait, what? How'd you get there from electricity?_

 _'What, is that weird? I think it'd be pretty cool. Like being able to turn into a lion or a bear or a dragon or something.'_

 _...No, I'm not the god of animals._

 _'Fine... God of guns?'_

 _There is no god of guns._

 _'Really? There should be...'_

 _Well, there_ is _a god of weapons, though._

 _'Oh, that's pretty cool...'_ Skull thought before suddenly realizing something. _'Hey, wait a minute! Weapons are manmade objects, how could there be a god for that? It doesn't make any sense!'_

 _A good question. You remember that I told you that there are many different types of gods?_

 _'Yeah?'_

 _Well, we were all created by someone else. Our One True God._

 _'One True God? Is that like the God of Gods or something?'_

 _That's one way to look at it, I guess. He's our creator, and_ your _creator._

Skull's eyes widened, astounded at this new revalation. _'Really?! So is he the god that created the universe?!'_

 _Well, no, not exactly. He created this world, not the universe. Each world with life on it kinda has its own god to take care of it._

 _'So who created the universe, then?'_ Skull continued his questioning. It was just now really sinking in that he was speaking to a _god_ , who had the answers to all the questions humankind could think of asking. Unfortunately, it was not to be.

 _Sorry, but I_ really _shouldn't be telling you anymore._

 _'What? Why?!'_

 _There are some things in this world that humans are just better off not knowing about._

 _'Damn...'_

 _Sorry, that's just how it is. But, anyway, when humans make something that the One True God sees potential in, he creates a new god for whatever that is. He saw the potential in weapons, so he created a god of weapons._

 _'Alright, that makes sense I guess,'_ Skull thought dejectedly, still disappointed. _'Though I don't really get why he'd want to make a god of_ weapons _... Oh, hey, are you a god of war?'_

 _*sigh* No._

 _'Screw it, I give up then. What kind of god are you?'_

 _Ah, you finally ask! I am one of the gods that the One True God created for something manmade._

 _'Oh, really? Which one? Wait, are_ you _the god of weapons?!'_

 _No, I'm the god of something even_ better _!_

 _'Really?!'_ Skull thought back to him, his eyes now wide with excitement. Maybe, with this new power he was going to get, maybe he actually _would_ be able to stand against Byakuran!

 _That's right!_

Maybe he actually had a chance!

 _You see..._

Maybe there was hope for him saving himself and the other Arcobaleno!

 _I am the god..._

Maybe...!

 _Of games!_

...Maybe the world just really loved to screw him over.

"...I'm doomed," Skull groaned, running his hands through his hair and falling onto his back in despair. "I'm so _screwed_! I mean, what the hell am I even supposed to do with that?! Challenge him to poker?! We're all going to die..."

 _*Ahem* Skull?_

"And it's probably going to be painful..."

 _Skull!_

Skull sighed. _'What is it now?'_

 _...You probably can't tell, but I'm rolling my eyes right now. Anyway, don't you wanna at least give your new power a chance before writing it off? I wouldn't send you off to fight Byakuran with a completely useless power, you know..._

Skull sat back up and frowned. _'I don't know, I've met a lot of assholes in my life... I wouldn't be surprised if one of them decided to do that...'_

 _Really? Wow, your life must have sucked..._

 _'Hey! I... Well... Yeah, pretty much.'_

 _Well, don't worry. I'm not that big of an asshole._

 _'...But you admit that you are one?'_

 _Sure. I have no reason to lie._

 _'Well, this day just keeps getting better, doesn't it?'_

 _Anyway, back to your power. But first, I need to ask you something important._

 _'Uh, what?'_

 _Skull, do you..._

 _'Yeah...?'_

 _...Play video games?_

 _'...What?'_ Skull asked in slight irritation after a moment of silence. _'_ That's _the important question?'_ He sighed. _'Yeah, I do. After I became an Arcobaleno, I couldn't really do stunts anymore. So, I took of video games to kinda...fill the void.'_

 _Huh... That's actually kind of sad._

 _'I know, but-'_ Skull suddenly shot out of the bed. _'Wait, I'm not a baby anymore!'_

 _Well, yeah. You just noticed this?_

 _'Well, I was kinda in shock, so- Oh, who cares? This means that I can ride my motorcycle again!'_

 _That's really what you care about in all this?_

 _'Of course!'_ Skull mentally shouted before becoming serious. _'I... Being a stuntman was my_ life _... After I became an Arcobaleno... I didn't know what to do anymore. I got depressed for a really long time after that...'_

 _Oh... Hey, you didn't...?_

 _'If you're going to say "want to kill yourself," no, I didn't,'_ Skull answered, frowning. _'Besides, that's the coward's way out.'_

 _Really... Are you still going to become an Arcobaleno this time around?_

 _'Do I have a choice anymore? I mean, I've already got your powers now and everything...'_

 _Did you already forget what I said? I would have given you these powers even if you chose not to fight Byakuran. So you can still change your mind, I don't have a problem with it._

 _'Really? Then why the heck did you even decide to do this in the first place? I mean, if you don't care whether I decide to fight Byakuran or not, then...'_

 _Ah, that. Well, I have two reasons why I decided to make you into an ability user._

 _'Okay?'_

 _The first reason is...I was just kinda bored._

 _'...Wha-'_

 _The second reason is, that this is kind of an experiment._

 _'You were just bo- EXPERIMENT?! You're not going all Verde on me, are you?!'_

 _The experiment is that I want to see how my powers would be used by an Ability User. You're actually my first one, so I wanna see how it goes._

Skull glared down at the floor in irritation before sighing. _'I see... So you did this just because you were bored... And as for the whole experiment thing...well, we'll see how it goes.'_

 _Glad to see you're so understanding. You never answered my question, though. Are you going to become an Arcobaleno this time around, too?_

Skull frowned and crossed his arms. "Hmm..." _'Well, I don't really think I have much of a choice. This doesn't seem like something I can run away from. I keep thinking that that Checkerface guy will come after me or something... Hey, do you know anything about the Arcobaleno curse?'_

 _Not much, to be honest. We gods don't really deal with the human realm that much unless we're trying to find potential Ability Users, so I can't help you with that._

 _'Oh, that's too bad... That reminds me, why_ did _you pick me of all people anyway?'_

 _Hm, well, I'm interested in learning more about this curse, so I decided to go with one of the Arcobaleno. Since you were the weakest, I figured that you'd need my power the most._

 _'Which, by the way, you still have to explain,'_ Skull pointed out before suddenly remembering something. _'Oh, yeah... Hey, how the heck did you send me back in time, anyway? I mean, you're the god of_ games _.'_

 _Oh, that. I asked the god of time, Chronos, for a favor._

 _'Heh, there's a god of time, too... Alright, you can tell me what my powers are now. And what the heck they have to do with video games.'_

 _How about we go somewhere without people first? You need someplace to practice!_

 _'Hmmm... I guess we could go to the forest around the Arcobaleno mansion...I doubt anyone's there yet anyway.'_

 _Deal!_

 **XXX**

 **In case nobody noticed, Skull's gonna have a real potty mouth in this fic. XP**

 **Probably should have put this in the first chapter, but I got the title of this fic from this: www . youtube watch?v=JLdU7VQFR7M**

 **You know, for anyone who's actually interested. XP**

 **I would have made a more detailed explanation on how this world and its gods worked, but why not keep it mysterious (plus I'm kinda lazy)? Besides, it's not really that important to the overall plot. At least for now. Who knows, I may decide to do something with it in the future.**

 **Also, and this is completely unrelated and random (I sort of just thought this randomly while I was writing this chapter), if Tet was a pokemon, he would definitely be a Mew. ...Like I said, it was just a random thought. :P**


	3. Chapter 3

**So, instead of the whole "one chapter for every five chapters of From Mafioso to Pirate" thing I had planned, I just decided to update these as I see fit, 'cause it was taking WAY too long. X( Plus, classes started, so my time is filled to the brim with studying. :(**

 **Rereading the comments, I think I may have made a slight misunderstanding. I did say that it was probably going to be Arcobaleno/Skull, but in the sense that they fall for him and that he falls for only ONE of them. As of right now, I haven't decided which one.**

 **Failing Wings: Their first impression of him probably won't be that different. I mean, it's not like they can tell that he has a special ability just by looking at him, and Skull's gonna kind of try to hide it as best he can. 'Cause, it's awesome, but to him it's kind of an embarrassing ability when compared to the other Arcobaleno, when it reality it outclasses them all and he's just to dense to realize it. XD And Tet sent him back a week before the Arcobaleno meet, remember? He won't be meeting any of them earlier than that. XP**

 **judokufu: I'm glad you think so! XP But I am not a dude. X(**

 **BlackShadow1: Thanks! Updates will be slow, but I'll try to put them out as soon as possible! Also, yeah, I hear from a bunch of people that my ideas are unique. Not sure if that's a good thing or not. XP**

 **Guest: Poor Skull indeed. He has no idea what he's gotten himself into. XD**

 **9tail-Naruto: Ah, yes, Skull has the tenacity of a cockroach. XP ...Or at least that's how the Arcobaleno probably see it. As for Skull abusing game mechanics... Skull: "Those game mechanics will be my BITCH!" *pumps fist into the air* Reborn: What the hell are you even talking about? -_- ...Seriously, though, a cockroach can live without its heads for weeks, and even then the only reason it dies is because of starvation. Those things are freaking SCARY. o.O**

 **Elioenai: Update! ...Yay! Hope you enjoy :D**

 **XXX**

Restart and Try Again

Chapter 3: Learning the Controls

XXX

It didn't take long to find the forest surrounding the Arcobaleno mansion. Standing in the middle of all the trees and nature, he crossed his arms and arched an eyebrow.

"Dang, I found this place _much_ easier than the first time around."

 _What happened the first time around?_

Skull coughed and looked down in embarrassment. "I...got really, really lost. I bumped into Fon and he showed me that way. He was always the nice one..." He finished with a small smile which quickly returned to a frown. "...Which isn't really saying much, now that I think about it."

 _Well, it seems that there's one who isn't a complete asshole then,_ came Tet's cheery voice. _Also, remember, use your inside voice._

 _'Yeah, yeah,'_ Skull thought back to him, rolling his eyes. _'There's no one around...'_

 _I know, but it'd be better if you got in the habit of it._

 _'Ugh, fiiiiine... So, what's this ability you gave me, anyway?'_

 _Impatient, aren't we? Alright, I guess we can start now. I've give you an ability which I've affectionately named "The Gamer" ability._

 _'"The Gamer," huh? A bit uncreative, but alright.'_

 _...Anyway, you can just think of it as a video game character's ability._

 _'Video game character? What the hell does that mean?'_

 _It's exactly what it sounds like. You now have all the perks and privileges of a video game character. For example..._

Skull jumped and nearly let out a (girly) yelp when a screen suddenly appeared in front of him. "Whoa! What the hell?!" He exclaimed, jumping away from it, eyes widening when it followed, never once widening the distance between him and it. He blinked and took a closer look at it. "Is this a...menu screen?"

 _Yep!_ Tet's voice was cheerful and amused to an infuriating degree. _So you understand now, right?_

 _'It's, uh, it's starting to sink in,'_ he thought back dazedly as he examined the screen.

It was about the size of a computer monitor screen and violet in color. It was pretty obvious to him why Tet had chosen that of all colors. On the top right side of the screen were the words "party." Right under it were four boxes. The first one was a small picture of him with his name right next to it, while the other three were completely empty. It took him no less than a second to realize that this was for him and his party members. Once he got over the initial 'Holy shit, I can have _party members_?!' he looked closer and saw a picture of a lock in the bottom right of his picture. Feeling strangely calm now, he thought to Tet, _'What's this lock mean?'_

 _That means that you can't replace that particular party member._

 _'So I can never remove myself from the party... Figures. Can I only have three?'_

 _No, you can have as many as you want, you just gotta scroll down._

Skull blinked and reached out his finger, hesitating for a moment before tapping a downwards arrow that was right under the third empty portrait, which then caused the screen to move downwards, revealing even more empty portraits.

 _'This is really weird,'_ the future Arcobaleno thought as he examined the left part of the screen this time. He read a number of different options running from top to bottom. Status, items, skills, pets, and options. _'Like, really, really, really weird.'_

 _You'll get used to it. Humans are so adaptable that I'm sure that it'll just be normal for you eventually!_

 _'I'm not really sure I even_ want _this to be normal for me...'_ he thought back. _'I guess I'll look at these in order...'_

 _Oh, quick heads up, you don't have to actually click anything to access the menu screens._

 _'What do you mean?'_

 _You can open it verbally by calling out the specific name. You can also do it mentally by thinking it instead. Go on, give it a try._

 _'Uh, alright...'_ Skull looked intently at his menu. _'Let's do this in order. Status first.'_

The "Status" option glowed for a second before the entire right side of the menu became grayed out and he was left with only the right. It took him a moment to realize that it was prompting him to choose whose status he wanted to see. Seeing that the only available option was himself, he chose that. _'Alright, let's see here...'_

 **Lv. 35**

 _'So my level's 35, huh? That's good, right?'_

 _Well, the level of an average civilian as somewhere between three and seven, so, yeah, pretty good. You_ are _an Arcobaleno, so it's natural that you're level would be above average._

Skull couldn't help but smirk. _'Well, I guess I'm stronger than the others gave me credit for!'_

 _Not really._

He faltered. _'Wait, wha?'_

 _The_ average _civilian is somewhere between level three and seven. The stronger percentage of civilians, like those in the military, or into martial arts, or things like that, are around forty to fifty. So you're kind of in the middle the two groups._

 _'Wait, so... I'm basically the level of a slightly-above-average civilian?!'_

 _Basically._

 _'Are you... But... Then why... How does that even...'_ He just stood there, sputtering in his mind for a few moments before throwing his arms up in the air and saying out loud. "Why the hell am I an Arcobaleno, then?!"

 _Well, despite you're level, you're cloud flame is very, very powerful._

 _'Seriously, what the he- wait, it is?'_ Skull asked, pausing. _'Really?'_

 _Yeah, your cloud flames are stranger than any I've ever seen! And I've seen a lot when I was trying to find possible Ability Users._

 _'...Really? But...'_ He frowned. _'I've never used my flames before... Not really...'_

 _The strength of your flames has nothing to do with how often you use them. It's something you're born with. You can increase it through training, but only by a certain amount depending on how strong it is naturally._

 _'Huh...'_ Skull crossed his arms thoughtfully. _'You sure know a lot about this...'_

 _Well, I am a god. Out of anyone else, I should know how the natural world works._

 _'Alright, that's fair play,'_ Skull conceeded. _'Gonna remember that for later. Back to this, though.'_ He looked back at his status screen. _'Let's see here...'_

 **Name: Skull**  
 **Lv. 35**  
 **HP: 20000/20000**  
 **MP: 40000/40000**  
 **Attack: 35**  
 **Defense: 43**  
 **Intelligence: 38**  
 **Special Defense: 39**  
 **Agility: 30**  
 **Vitality: 35**  
 **Dexterity: 30**  
 **Luck: 10**

 _'Alright, HP, MP, Attack, and Defense are all pretty freaking obvious...'_ Skull thought to himself as he exmined them. _'I'm guessing that Intelligence is like magic attack or something, right?'_

 _Essentially._

 _'And that makes Special Defense magic defense... What does Agility do?'_

 _What do you think it does?_

 _'Well... I don't know, reduce casting time?'_

 _Oh, wow, you actually got it right. I thought you were gonna say something stupid, like that it makes you faster._

 _'And what, become Sonic the Hedgehog? No thanks... I mean, how would that even work?'_ Skull asked, scoffing at the mental image he conjured up.

 _Aw, don't you want to run faster than the speed of sound?_

 _'Anyway, Vitality, what's that do?'_

 _Alright, just ignore me, that's fine. Vitality basically determines how high your HP and MP can grow as you level up._

 _'Huh... Gonna keep that in mind. What about dexterity?'_

 _Hand eye coordination._

 _'Alright, and Luck is also pretty freaking obvious.'_ And with that, he exited out of the Status Screen. _'It actually feels like I'm playing a video game... You did a good job with all this.'_

 _Well, I_ am _the god of games._ Tet's voice sounded proud as he said that. _You can praise me more if you like._

Skull scoffed. _'You're like a little kid. If it weren't for all this,'_ he gestured at the menu screen. _'I wouldn't believe for a second that you're a god.'_

 _Well that's kind of insulting..._

 _'Hm? There's more?'_ Skull blinked and continued scrolling down the screen.

 **Age: 19**  
 **Primary Flame Type: Cloud**  
 **Secondary Flame Type: ?**  
 **Class: The Gamer**  
 **Title: None**

 _'It tells me stuff like this, too?'_ Skull asked, looking on in interest. _'Wait, what's "secondary flame type" mean? And why's there only a question mark?'_

 _Well, everyone is born with one primary flame type and one secondary type. Your primary flame is obviously cloud._

 _'Obviously,'_ Skull agreed.

 _Your secondary flame, since you haven't really unlocked it yet, is a mystery._

 _'Wait, do you mean that it's sealed or the video game kind of "unlock"?'_

 _Yes._

 _'...'Kay then.'_ Closing out of the status menu, he clicked on the next one. _'Items, huh? Let's see, I have...'_ The menu opened to reveal a completely empty violet screen. _'...Jackshit, apparently.'_

 _It would appear so._

 _'Do you always have to sound so damn cheerful?'_ Skull thought in irritation before going over to the next menu. _'Skills. This oughta be interesting.'_

 **Passive Skills:**  
 **Gamer's Mind**  
 **Gamer's Body**  
 **Cloud Regeneration**

 **Active Skills:**  
 **Observe**

 _'Whoa, I already have a bunch! That's pretty cool!'_ He said, choosing the first one.

 **Gamer's Mind:** **Allows the user to calmly and logically think things through. Allows peaceful state of mind. Immunity to psychological mass effect.**

Skull blinked. _'Okay, this explains why I'm so calm about all this fuckery.'_

 _Yeah, I figured it would be useful. Humans are so prone to panicking. It's actually pretty funny, buuuut might get you into some nasty situations._

 _'Moving on...'_

 _Boooo! Stop ignoring me!_

 **Gamer's Body: Grants body that allows for the user to live the real world like a game. Sleeping in bed restores HP, MP, and removes status effects.**

 _'So, my body's a video game character's, too?'_ Skull looked down at his hand. _'I wonder what else I can do, then...'_

 _You'll just have to find out as you go along~!_

 _'You're no help at all...'_ Skull huffed before moving onto the next one. _'"Cloud Regneration?"'_

 **Cloud Regeneration: Because your Cloud Flames are so powerful, their abilities of propagation make you very hard to kill indeed. Grants 30% Regeneration Buff.**

Skull blinked slowly.

"...Oh hell yes."

 _I figured you'd like that._

 _'Hey, anything that can help me NOT die is a good thing. And, besides, I've played enough MMO's to know that passive buffs the most helpful thing ever! So, uh...thanks, I guess...'_

 _Well, I can't take_ all _the credit. You actually had this particular ability from the beginning. I just named it for you._

 _'Wait, seriously?'_ Skull asked, gaping slightly. _'Uh, HOW?!'_

 _Well, I don't know for sure, but I think that you've been unconsciously using your flames to do it yourself. Your body must be so used to it that it just happens by itself now. To your body, it's as natural as breathing._

 _'So I had this kickass ability from the start?!'_ He paused in thought. _'...Well, I guess that explains how I survived half the shit I went through...'_

 _As a stuntman?_

 _'Yeah, that too,'_ Skull nodded.

 _?_

 _'Now for the Active Skills! Looks like I only have one, though,'_ he said, tilting his head slightly. _'Observe, huh?'_

 **Observe(lv. 1) - A skill to observe objects, situations, and persons, allowing the user to quickly gather information. The higher the skill, the greater the data obtained. At level 9, the skill will comment on what is observed.**

 _'Well that's interesting. And what does that last part mean?'_

 _Oh, that's just a little special touch from me~._

 _'...Kinda worried now. So this is the only Active Skill I have, huh?'_

 _Yeah, just a little something to start you off with. You'll get more by doing various actions in real life._

 _'What kind of actions?'_

 _Various._

 _'Still no help at all,'_ Skull grumbled before exiting out of the Skills Menu and taking a look at the next one. _'...There's a pet system in this game?!'_

 _Sure is!_

 _'How would I even_ get _pets?'_

 _You'll figure it out on your own~._

 _'Dammit, Tet...'_ He sighed again before going over to the last menu: Options. He blinked in surprise at the contents. _'Whoa, it really is an options menu!'_

 _Well, yeah. I mean, what did you expect it to be?_

 _'Shut up. It's surprising, alright?'_ Skull shot back as he looked at all the different options.

 **Brightness**  
 **Sound**  
 **Music**

 _'Are you serious? Okay, this menu is just a bit too weird for me.'_

 _You never know, it might be useful~._

 _'Uh, okay, I'll believe_ that _when I see it,'_ Skull said sarcastically. _'Looks like that was all of them.'_

 _As you go through your life, you'll get some more._

 _'Like what?'_

 _There's no fun in telling you now._

 _'You're just never going to give me a straight answer, are you?'_

 _I value having fun above aaaaaall else._

 _'That's unsettling,'_ Skull mumbled as he looked around the quiet forest. _'So was there even any point in coming here? I mean, all I did was go through the menu. Why'd you make me come here?'_

 _Waaaaaait for it._

 _'Wait for wha-'_ Skull cut himself off and jumped slightly when once again a screen appeared before him. "Damn it! I'm gonna have to get used to that..." He looked at the screen and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

 **Alert:**  
 **A new dungeon, "Evergreen Woods", has opened up!**  
 **You now have access to the "Map" menu!**

 _'...What the fuck?'_

 _Suprise! It's not an RPG without dungeons to crawl through and monsters to fight!_

 _'Wait, so you can just create random dungeons at will?!'_

 _Nope, that's too much work for me. It's your ability that does that. I'm just here to have fun and see how my first ever Ability User does~!_

 _'Um...when you said monsters, did you mean...?'_

 _Real life RPG monsters._

 _'Uuuuuuuh,'_ Skull started to take step after step backwards towards the enterance, looking around the forest warily. _'No, no thanks, I think I'm just gonna go and-'_

 **You have entered the dungeon "Evergreen Woods"!**

Skull blinked and stared as his surroundings started to warp and change. The trees were now large and greener, and completely unlike any trees he had ever seen. The grass became longer and more lush as strange flowers of all different colors, some the size of his head, sprang up in random places.

"Fucking dammit, Tet! You did this on purpose!" He shouted at the heavens, clutching his hands into fists. "What the hell?!"

 _The entrance to the dungeon was right behind you~. And the locations are random, so I didn't do it on purpose. You just have bad luck. This is getting very fun indeed~!_

"Fuck you!"

 **XXX**

 **Next time, Skull goes through his first dungeon. XD And sorry this took so long. I really have no excuse for procrastinating for so long. :( I was gonna have the dungeon be in this chapter, too, but it's been so long that I want everyone to know that I'm not dead. XP**

 **After some debate, I've decided to eventually include OC's in this. But the thing I noticed about OC's is that they tend to not be done very well. There are some really good ones out there, but I haven't come across that many of them. :( The reason I'm making OC's is I just want to give Skull some friends who aren't assho- Arcobaleno or already canon characters. And I wanna practice with writing OC's. GOOD OC's. I already have two in mind that are inspired by a multitude of already real characters, but I won't actually write them in until waaaaaay in the future after the Arcobaleno curse. Don't expect them to be normal people. :P Skull here will have veeeeeeeeeeeery low standards when it comes to friends. XP ...Skull is a lonely person. ._.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Yes, Skull's luck will constantly be getting him into trouble. ...Pray for this man, ladies and gentlemen. Pray for him.**

 **yvonna: I know right? Poor lonely, bullied Skull needs more luuuuv! XP I disagree that there aren't a lot of gamer/KHR stories, though. It's just that most of them are about Tsuna. :P**

 **Elioenai: And I think that there are actually some animals out there that can biologically live forever (too lazy to look up which ones they were), so Skull is probably kind of like one of them now. XD**

 **XXX**

Restart and Try Again

Chapter 4: Dungeon Crawling

XXX

"Okay... Okay... Just calm down... Calm down..." Skull said to himself as he looked around the unnaturally quiet forest. "This is like the first dungeon of a game, right? So there's not gonna be anything too bad in here, right? Right?!"

 _Who knows?_

"Okay, _you're_ an asshole," Skull shouted at the god, not even bothering to use their mental link anymore. "What do you even expect me to do?! I don't even have anything to fight with!"

 _Heads up, here comes an enemy!_

"Wait, what?!"

Before he could get out any other reply, there was a sound of something wet thumping on the forest ground. He swung his head around wildly, trying to find the source as the sound kept getting closer and closer

"Wh-Where is it-" Skull froze as something shot right past his face and splattered across a nearby tree. Quickly turning to look at it, his eyes widened when he saw an orange, gooey substance now sticking to said tree. Looking closer, he could see a strange vapor being emitted from it and quickly realized that the tree bark was slowly beeing _disintigrated_ by the slime.

"...Holy fuck, that could have been my _face_ ," he muttered in disbelief as the wet thumping sound stopped behind him. "What the hell is..." He turned to face whatever it was and his eyes widened in shock and horror. "What the fuck is THAT thing?!"

Across from him was an ball of oozing orange slime with two gaping holes on either side of it, each pulsating with a malicious red glow. Both lights focused on it, making Skull realize that they were in fact _eyes_ , as a third hole, much, much bigger than the other two, opened in the middle, revealing what he could only compare to a black hole. It let out a sound, a mixture of crying babies, snarling monsters, and people screaming bloody murder.

Skull's eyes widened. "NO SERIOUSLY, WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING?!"

 _Use your Observe skill! It's what it's there for!_

"Dammit! Observe!"

A screen instantly appeared before him.

 **Orange Slime Lv. 20**

"THIS IS WHAT SLIMES LOOK LIKE IN REAL LIFE?! THIS THING IS FUCKING TERRIFYING!"

 _Looks like it's going to attack again. You ready to fight?_

Within the Slime's gaping mouth, the ooze started to gather up and form a ball. Skull glanced at the tree, then back at it, then back at pool of sludge forming beneath the tree, then back at it once again.

 **"ALL OF MY NOPE!"**

And with that, he turned around and ran like Reborn himself was on his heels.

XXX

 _You know, Slimes are pretty slow. You probably didn't have to run that fast._

"Screw *pant* you *pant*," Skull said, leaning against one of the many trees.

 _Why didn't you fight it?_

"Fight it _how_ exactly?! I don't have any weapons!"

 _Hand to hand?_

"Oh, sure, punch something that can melt of your skin, I bet that'll work!" Skull snarled back sarcastically.

 _Hmmm... You have a point there._

"You are still completely useless... And that 'Gamer's Mind' thing is completely useless, too, by the way. I flipped the fuck out back there."

 _Well, to be fair, that ability depends on how much confidence you have while you're in whatever situation you're in._

"That's stupid," the future Arcobaleno sighed as he looked around. "...Hey, didn't I get a new menu before I came in here?"

 _Yeah, the "map" menu._

"Well, I got away from that abomination, so let's see here. Menu," Skull called, and as soon as the screen appeared before him, he was attacked with yet another alert box.

 **Alert:**  
 **You now have access to the "Quest" menu!**

Skull blinked. "...Okay?" He mumbled, getting rid of the alert screen and looking at his menu. Between the Skills and Pets menu were now the words "Map" and "Quest." Curious, he reached out and tapped the Quest menu.

 **Current Quests:**

 **"Through the Woods We Go": Find the exit out of Evergreen Woods!**  
 **Reward: ?**

"Whoa, I get a reward for getting out of here?" Skull asked, arching an eyebrow. "What's with that quest name, though?"

 _Why, would you prefer something boring?_

"No, it's just...never mind. Map!"

Yet another screen appeared, this one showing a large white area with a purple dot in the middle. The white extended upwards a bit into another area where a red dot stood, slowly moving around from time to time.

Skull hummed in contemplation. "It looks like I have to explore the area in order to add to the map... That purple dot is obviously me...but what's with that red one?"

 _The red dots are enemies you've encountered. So that's the Slime you just ran from._

"Oh, god, no," Skull shuddered. "Gonna stay far away from that thing..."

 _You should expore the rest of this dungeon. Who knows, you may find something you can use as a weapon._

"Really? I guess it's worth a shot..." Skull started, then froze when an ominous moan-like sound filled the area. "What the hell?"

 _Monster at three o'clock!_

Turning to his right, he immediately saw a giant tree with dark hollowed eyes, a large gaping mouth with jagged sharp teeth, and long, clawed arms slowly making it's way towards him. It opened his mouth and let out an indescribable sound.

"...Nope."

XXX

"You know, this _is_ the first dungeon. Couldn't it be filled with...I dunno, _bunnies_ or something?" Skull grumbled.

 _Maybe if you were level one, but you're level thirty-five. This dungeon is a bit more your pace._

"...You have a point, but fuck you anyway." Skull looked around for any more approaching monsters as he made his way through the strange forest. He arched an eyebrow as he spotted a small patch what could only be described as blue sunflowers. "There are some reeeaaaally weird plants here... This isn't anything like the real world."

 _It's called being creative. You are kind of in an RPG now._

"So this is my life now, then? I don't know whether to cry or laugh..." He mumbled before a flash of red caught his attention. He immediately tensed as he turned to face it, but instantly felt relieved when he saw that it wasn't a monster. Instead, it was... "...Is that a treasure chest?"

 _Geez, you act like you've never played an RPG before._

"Fair enough," Skull said as he jogged over to the shiny, red treasure chest. Taking hold of the lid, he started to slowly lift it open.

 _Dananana dananana dananana dananana..._

"Stop that," Skull said, rolling his eyes slightly as he swung it open.

 _Oh, come on, lighten up._

"I just got attacked by a fucking tree. I am in no mood."

 _Boooooo, fiiiiine._

Looking into the chest, Skull blinked when he saw a rather plain looking knife inside. "What the? Observe."

 **Dagger-Like Knife: It's really more of a kitchen knife, but better than nothing, right? Attack +7**

"..."

 _Hey, you got a weapon now! Congrats~!_

"..."

 _Now you can go fight some monsters~!_

"..."

 _..._

"..."

 _...Skull?_

"..."

 _...Oh, shoot, I think he short-circuited..._

XXX

"Seriously... Of all the weapons to find..." Skull glared down at the innocent not-dagger. "It's not even a real weapon, it's a fucking _kitchen knife_..."

 _Well, it is your starting weapon. I'm sure you'll find something better eventually._

"Seriously, I have the _worst_ luck!" Skull grumbled. "And I still haven't found the goddamn exit..." He froze midstep when a nearby bush started rustling. "Oh, god, what is it _now_?"

Instantly, a white blur jumped out of the bush, growling at him. It was bigger than the real thing and had teeth, claws, and even a few spikes jutting out of it's back in a few places, but there was no doubt what it was.

 _Hey! It's a bunny! You got your wish!_

"Holy crap, I was fucking _kidding_ when I said that! And this thing is not any less terrifying than the other monsters!"

Said "bunny" glared at him with slitted crimson eyes, it's fangs bared and saliva dripping from its mouth in a long string. It hunched down a bit before springing towards him, claws glistening.

Skull's eyes widened. "Oh, fuck!"

As the rabid rabbit closed the distance between then, Skull quickly took out his kitchen knife and shut his eyes as he shoved it forward. His eyes snapped back open in surprise when he heard the creature let out a snarl of pain and jump away from him. Looking back at it, he saw that he had accidentally stabbed it in it's eye, which, instead of bleeding, was now glowing red and pixelated. Seeing an opportunity, he quickly shouted, "Observe!"

 **Demon Rabbit, Lv. 23**

His eyes widened and he quickly got rid of the screen and rushed aside as the monster rabbit lunged for him again, claws glowing red. Seeing an opening, he quickly ran towards it as it landed on the ground and slashed at it's side, leaving a deep gash just above it's right back-leg. As he widened the distance between it and him once again, he was bombarded with alert screens.

 **Alert:**  
 **You have unlocked the Passive Skill "Dagger Mastery!"**  
 **You have unlocked the Active Skill "Knife Throw!"**

"T-Tet, how do I use this skill?!"

 _It tells you in your Skills Menu!_

"DAMMIT, MAN, I DON'T HAVE TIME TO READ RIGHT NOW!"

 _Look, you're going to have to read your menu in between battles all the time. Might as well get used to it._

"Dammit, fine! Skills Menu!" He shouted, dodging yet another strike from the vicious bunny rabbit.

 **Knife Throw: Hurl your dagger at the enemy.**  
 **Power: 25**  
 **MP Cost: 15**

Screetching to a stop and turning to face the deadly bunny, he aimed his kitchen knife. "Alright, I got this shit now! KNIFE THROW!" He shouted, hurling the kitchen utensil at it.

As the knife hurdled towards the rabbit, a faint violet sheen sturrounded it, causing to leave a glowing trail behind it. It approached the monster...

...And completely missed it, impaling itself into a tree behind it.

"...Are you fucking KIDDING ME?!"

 _Oh, wow, you need more dexterity..._

"NOT NOW!"

He didn't have time to say anything more as the monster ran for him and clawed at his side, leaving a gash.

"Ow! FUCK!" Skull yelped, immediately rushing away, towards where his knife landed. Once he was a safe distance away, he looked down at his wound, sighing in relief when he saw that it was stitching back up. "Thank god for Cloud Regeneration..." He mumbled, grasping his knife and pulling out of the tree bark. "Now, let's try this again... KNIFE THROW!"

Once again, he threw his knife towards the monster. This time, though, it hit it's mark, stabbing it right between the eyes.

 _Headshot!_

Ignoring Tet, he watched as the rabbit fell to the ground before bursting into pixels and disappearing. "...Oh, thank god that's over with," he sighed, walking over to retrieve the knife.

 _You did pretty good for your first battle. Good job, Skull! It was pretty funny, too. I'm so glad I chose you as my Ability User~!_

Skull groaned in irritation and was about to retort when a screen appeared before him.

 **Level up! You've earned 3 Status Points!**

"Status points?"

 _Ah, yes, that. Status points are what you use to increase your attack, defense, whatever you want._

"Oh, that's pretty cool... Let's see. Status menu!" Once his screen of choice appeared, he looked over his stats thoughtfully.

 **Attack: 35**  
 **Defense: 43**  
 **Intelligence: 38**  
 **Special Defense: 39**  
 **Agility: 30**  
 **Vitality: 35**  
 **Dexterity: 30**  
 **Luck: 10**

"Hm... Well, I don't have any magic attacks or whatever yet, but I may get some in the future, so I'll increase that by one point..."

 **Intelligence: 39**

"Definitely gonna increase Dexterity so shit like that doesn't happen again..."

 **Dexterity: 31**

"Aaaaaand, attack."

 **Attack: 36**

 _You're not gonna increase Luck?_

Skull arched an eyebrow. "Why? Critical hits are good and all, but they're so unreliable! I'd rather have high attack."

 _...Wait, what are you talking about?_

"My critical hit ratio. I don't really care how high it is."

 _So...you think Luck has to do with your critical hits?_

"Yeah. I mean, doesn't it?"

 _...Yes. Yes it does. You should never increase it._

Skull just huffed in annoyance. "I won't. I've got more important things to spend my points on."

 _And it just got that much more fun~._

"Wait, what was that?"

 _Oh, nothing~._

Skull frowned in thought before shrugging. "Whatever, man."

XXX

As he wandered around the forest, Skull had beaten three other rabbits along with a tree monster, which, through Observe, he now knew was called a Possessed Tree. Most of the map was cleared up except for one area, which he was now headed towards.

"Figures that the exit would be in the last place I look..." The Cloud sighed. "Seriously, why am I so damn unlucky?"

 _Beats me~._

"Well, whatever. We're here." He stopped and looked around the final area. It really looked no different than the rest of the forest, except for the large, swirling blue portal in the middle. "That must be the exit! Finally!" Skull said in relief as he started to speed walk his way towards it. Before he could even get close, though, the portal suddenly dulled into a gray color and something started to come out of it. "...Tet, what's happening?"

 _Dungeon boss time!_

"...Fuck!"

Something burst out of the portal and landed in front of him. Seeing what it was, Skull stopped panicking and blinked. "What the? The boss is another freaking _bunny_?!"

Indeed it was. Although it was a bit larger, it's fur black, it's eyes yellow, and claws and fangs slightly sharper, it was another rabbit.

"Observe!"

 **Boss: Bloody Rabbit**

"Okay, the _name's_ a bit unsettling, but other than that... Whatever, let's just do this!"

 _Good luck!_

"...Why are you laughing while you say that?"

 _Oh, no reason~. Heads up!_

"Oh shi-"

The rabbit rushed forward and tackled him straight in the stomach sending him flying backwards and slamming into a tree and then onto the ground.

"Ooooooow..."

 _Whoa, are you okay?_

Hearing a bit of actual concern in Tet's voice, Skull bit back the sarcastic 'Oh, yeah, I'm fan-fucking-tastic!' he was about to say and instead said. "Yeah, I'm fine..." Shoving himself back onto his feet, he glared back at the monster challengingly. "Bring it on, you bitch! I've come back from worse than this!"

The rabbit roared in response and dug it's paw into the dirt like a bull, getting ready to charge again.

"Knife Throw!" Skull shouted, throwing his knife towards the monster at the same time it started running towards him. The knife dug into its chest, causing it to growl in pain, but it didn't slow down. Skull's eyes widened and he quickly jumped aside as the rabbit slammed into the tree. Seeing it momentarily stunned he yanked the knife out of its head and ran towards the other half of the clearing. "Okay, Knife Throw is _not_ a good idea!"

 **Alert:**

"Oh, god, what now?!"

 **Dagger Mastery increased!**  
 **You have unlocked the Active Skill "Dagger Barrage!"**

Skull blinked. "Oh, hey, just in time. Skill menu!"

 **Dagger Barrage: Hurl multiple daggers at the target.**  
 **Power: 35**  
 **MP Cost: 20**

"But I only have one knife!"

 _Just give it a try! It might surprise you!_

Skull glanced at the rabbit, which was charging towards him once again. "Well, if you say so. DAGGER BARRAGE!"

He threw his kitchen knife once again towards the enemy. As the knife was in the air, orbs of violet light appeared around it, each forming into an exact copy of the original, and they all plunged into the monster, sending it flying backwards for a few meters before breaking into pixels. Once that was done, all the knives disappeared save for the original, which landed back on the ground.

"...Holy crap, that was _awesome_!" Skull exclaimed with wide eyes.

 _You did really well in your first dungeon, good job!_

Before the future Arcobaleno could respond, yet another alert appeared.

 **Level Up! You've earned 3 Status Points!**

"Oh, sweet! This place is awesome for level grinding!"

 _What are you gonna increase now?_

"How about... Attack, Special Defense, and Dexterity!"

 **Attack: 37**  
 **Special Defense: 40**  
 **Dexterity: 32**

"There we go. Now then..." He turned back to the portal, which was now back to it's original blue color. Walking towards it, he managed to get right in front of it before yet another screen popped up.

 **Quest "Through the Woods We Go" complete!**  
 **Reward: Dagger!**

 **Dagger: A short knife with a pointed and edged blade, used as a weapon.**  
 **Attack +14**

"Holy crap, an _actual dagger_! I never thought I'd be so happy about something like this!"

 _See, you're not_ completely _unlucky! And you can finally get out now!_

"Yeah, I can finally..." Skull started, taking a step towards the portal, but then he trailed off and took a step back.

 _Skull?_

"...Actually, there's something I want to do first," the violet-haired boy stated, bringing his map up for a moment before turning around and heading back into the forest.

 _What are you gonna do?_

"What I should have done a while ago..."

XXX

Back in the beginning of the dungeon, a certain pile of ooze was waiting patiently for its target. Hearing footsteps behind it, it turned around to see the violet human boy, glaring at him with a new resolve in his eyes. It turned around and started forming a ball of liquid ooze as the boy held out a dagger in front of him.

"Let's do this, you orange pile of shit! Dagger Barrage!"

Skull blinked as the daggers buried themselves into the Slime, which then burst into pixels.

"Oh...that was easy."

 _Well, it is the lowest-level monster here._

"...Meh, whatever. Revenge complete. I'm outta here."

 _I really don't understand why you wanted to come back for this in the first place._

"It's a pride thing."

 **XXX**

 **Man, this chapter was TONS of fun to write. XD Seriously, pray for Skull, he REALLY needs it. The poor bastard. XP And, holy crap, Tet, you are such a troll. Seriously, I'm having so much fun tormenting Skull that I can almost understand why the Arcobaleno do it. XD**

 **The way Gamer's Mind works in this fic is that Skull's level of calmness depends on how much confidence he has currently, so he's still very much prone to panicking and flipping out. Let's face it, a calm Skull is not an amusing one. XP**


	5. Chapter 5

**So, I've finally decided who Skull will end up with. :D It's all gonna be hush hush for now, though, so feel free to speculate. XP Also, after this we'll probably finally get to the Arcobaleno. This is a sort of in between chapter detailing what happens during the week before the meeting.**

 **Elioenai: Everyone loves trolls as long as they're not the ones being trolled by them. XP And, yes, Skull will have his moments to shine...eventually...maybe...somehow...**

 **yvonna: Spoiler alert: He will most likely never figure out the Luck thing. XD Or at least not for a long, long, long, looooong time. XP**

 **To the guest who asked me about making a fic about Skull training Tsuna. I had a hard time understanding if you're talking about this fic or making a different one one, but I'm not going to do that for three reasons. 1) This fic is Skull-centric, it's not about Tsuna. 2) There are waaay too many fics about Tsuna already. 3) There's already a fic like that. It's called Cumulonimbus. Great fic, go check it out. :P**

 **Belphy: Skull is ironically the most normal yet strange person in this fic. :P Seriously, just think about it. And, as stated when they were talking about his Cloud Regeneration ability, the way Skull uses his flames is purely instinctual. Kind of makes you wonder what he'd be like with proper training. :O**

 **Yukio00: ...Hey, Skull, someone thinks you're cute!**  
 **Skull: Wait, seriously?! o.O But all I do is curse and run away... Um, thanks, I guess. *is flustered***  
 **Sorry, Skull's not used to compliments. XP**

 **Guest: Yay, my characterization is good! :D And there are too few fics with Skull as the protagonist. Yet, at the same time, there are too many Skull-is-Harry fics as well... Nothing against those fics, I just don't want them to be come the whole "Naruto neglected" situation where everyone likes the idea and wants to write their own but just ends up copying and pasting from others so much that you can't even tell which one was the original anymore. :P I mean, the current Skul-is-Harry fics are pretty good, but it's only a matter of time. :/ Well, whatever, the more love for Skull the better. :P**

 **Other Guest: Yep, Skull is fun to be around. We all wish we had someone like him in our lives, be honest. We would never need any other form of entertainment. XD**

 **LlamaLamb72: It feels like Skull will just run out of Nope eventually. Especially with Tet around. XD**

 **Ddragon21:**  
 **Skull: Being the weakest Arcobaleno sucks. :(**  
 **Tet: ...What the heck are you talking about, Skull? You've reached the level cap! You're basically the strongest person on the planet now!**  
 **Skull: ...Wait...WHAT?!**

 **XXX**

Restart and Try Again

Chapter 5: Grinding

XXX

"Thank sweet merciful crap that's over with!" Skull shouted in relief as he burst out of the portal and landed on his stomach on the soft grass.

 _You've successfully made it through your first dungeon! For a second there, I thought you were gonna die and that I'd have to find someone else!_

 _'Truly, your concern for me is staggering,'_ the future Arcobaleno huffed before sitting up and turning back around to look at the glowing portal. "So is this thing just gonna...stay here?"

 _Yeah._

 _'Isn't that kinda dangerous, though? I mean, what if some poor bastard accidentally walks into it?'_

 _No worries. Unless they're actively in your party, no one other than you can enter a dungeon. Plus, no one can see the portals except for you._

 _'Convenient.'_

 _I know, right?_

Skull stood up off the ground, eyes still focused on the vortex of blue light. _'I know I complained a little...'_

 _A_ little _?_

 _'Okay, a_ lot _. But this was actually kinda fun.'_

 _Really?_

Skull gave a small smile. _'It was like being in a real RPG!'_

 _That was the intent! I knew I did a great job~._

 _'Yeah, don't break your arm trying to pat your own back there,'_ Skull rolled his eyes and started to walk back towards the forest entrance. _'By the way, you said you sent me back one week before the meeting, right?'_

 _Yep. Exactly one week. Why?_

 _'Well, I was just thinking, the other Arcobaleno are probably all at, like...level one hundred or something!'_

 _Probably. Maybe even higher._

 _'That's what I thought... So, I'm really gonna need to grind before the week's up.'_

 _True. You're pretty much a weakling right now. It's really sad, for an Arcobaleno I mean._

 _'Hey! I- ...Okay, you're not wrong. But, anyway, I have to grind as much levels as I can before I meet them all again! I_ refuse _to be their lackey this time around!'_

 _Considering how terrible your luck is, I kinda doubt that..._

 _'...Screw you.'_

XXX

 _ **The next day...**_

"This place looks kinda different now..." Skull said as soon as he came out of the portal and landed in the familiar, yet at the same time unfamiliar, Evergreen Woods. "And where's that Slime?"

 _Well, the dungeon changes each time you go in it. It'd get pretty boring and repetitive otherwise._

"Is that right? Makes sense I guess... Kinda disappointed I can't kill that Slime again, though..."

 _Why do you hate that thing so much anyway?_

"Well, it's normal to hate a bunch of monsters trying to kill you, right?"

 _Yeah, but I meant why that Slime specifically?_

Skull shuddered as he started walking through the dungeon. "Did you _see_ that thing? The only thing I can think of that was scarier than that is Reborn... And maybe Verde."

 _They both sound unpleasant._

"They are... Well, in Verde's case, he's more creepy than anything else..."

 _What kind of creepy?_

"Mad scientist creepy."

 _...Now I wanna meet him._

"...Why?" Skull asked back in complete disbelief as he entered one of the dungeon's various rooms. "I mean, he'd probably try to experiment on you or some..." He trailed off once he actually got a chance to look around said room. His eyes widened in terror at the horrific sight before him. "Oh...my...god..."

 _What's wro- Oh..._

All around the small dungeon room, he could see nothing but the color orange. He could just barely even make out the grassy terrain or lush foliage underneath all the orange. Numerous pulsating crimson eyes turned in his direction.

"That's...a lot of Slimes."

 _It must be a hoard... Skull, you probably won't make it, so... It was fun knowing you._

"Now isn't the time to joke, Tet!"

 _I wasn't._

"...Shit! DAGGER BARRAGE!"

XXX

"I can't believe I actually survived that..." Skull mumbled, wincing as his wounds healed themselves up.

 _Me neither._

"Please, stop. You're belief in me is overwhelming enough as it is," Skull shot back sarcastically before sighing. "How many of those things did I kill anyway? I lost count after fourteen..."

 _I counted twenty-five. I think that's the highest number a hoard can be, too._

"You don't say..."

 _It's pretty rare to find a full hoard. I honestly can't tell if this was unlucky or lucky..._

Skull let out a groan. "Would you please just shut the hell u-" He yelped when alert screen after alert screen appeared right in front of his face. "Jesus! That surprised me... So, any reason these are only appearing now?"

 _They don't appear during hoards in order to prolonge_ _the life of the Ability User~._

Skull glared at the alert screens in irritation. "How fucking nice of you."

 _Don't ever say I don't try to keep you alive._

"My god, you are an _asshole_... Whatever. Let's see what I got."

 **Dagger Mastery increased +2!**  
 **You have unlocked the Title "Trainee of the Dagger!"**

 **Level up +5! You've earned 15 Status Points!**

 **You have unlocked the Active Skill "Bravery!"**

"Oh, wow, I leveled up five times? This place is _really_ good for grinding!" Skull said as he stared at the screen in amazement.

 _Don't expect that to last too long, though. You'll need more experience the higher level you are._

The violet-haired boy rolled his eyes at that. "Uh, yeah, I know. I've played RPG's before, you know... Now, what the hell is this title thing I got?"

 **Trainee of the Dagger: When equipped with a dagger or dagger-like weapon, your attack power increases by 2%.**

"Oh, dang, that's pretty good..."

 _You're welcome~._

"...You know what? I'm just going to ignore you from now on."

 _Yeah, good luck with that. Ha!_

"...Anyway, what's 'Bravery?'"

 **Bravery: Increases target's attack and special attack by 5%.**  
 **MP Cost: 50**

"I get _buffs_ , too?!" Skull gaped. "That's kickass!"

 _I know, right?_

"But, how'd I get this from a dagger?" Skull asked, frowning. "I mean...it's a dagger."

 _Some skills you get by just leveling up normally._

"Oooh, I...guess that makes sense." He said, frowning and tilting his head. "Well, whatever. This is still really kickass! Now..." Opening his menu, he fiddled with his status screen for a few minutes. "And...there!"

 **Lv: 42**  
 **Attack: 40**  
 **Defense: 45**  
 **Intelligence: 42**  
 **Special Defense: 42**  
 **Agility: 31**  
 **Vitality: 36**  
 **Dexterity: 34**  
 **Luck: 10**

 _Do you have any plan with your stats, by chance?_

Skull blinked. "...No. No I do not."

 _Meh, whatever~.I'm sure you'll figure something out eventually! ...Well, maybe..._

"Ugh, great, something else to think about..." He grumbled, exiting out of the menu. "Whatever, let's just find the exit out of this place..."

 _I thought you wanted to grind?_

"I just fought twenty-five fucking Slimes. I'm am _done_."

 _Aww~._

XXX

 _ **The day before the meeting**_

"You've been in an oddly good mood this morning."

 _Aren't I always in a good mood?_

"Yeah, but today it just seems...suspicious."

 _Hmm~?_

"...Well, whatever. Maybe I'm just imagining things," he mumbled with a shrug before going back to examining his various menus.

 **Lv: 46**  
 **Attack: 42**  
 **Defense: 47**  
 **Intelligence: 44**  
 **Special Defense: 44**  
 **Agility: 33**  
 **Vitality: 38**  
 **Dexterity: 34**  
 **Luck: 10**

"It's getting a lot harder to grind of enemies here..."

 _That's 'cause you're getting too high-leveled for this dungeon. After we get out of here, you should invest some time in finding a higher-leveled one._

Skull sighed. "Great... Well, at least I'm a bit tougher than an above-average civilian now! ...Right?"

 _Yeah, yeah, that's... Yeah._

"You're not doing wonders for my confidence, you know..." He mumbled before switching over to his skills menu.

 **Dagger Pierce: A stabbing attack that is able to pierce through protective skills for a small amount of damage.**  
 **Power: 10**  
 **MP Cost: 20**

"I've been getting less skills recently, too..."

 _Well, dagger mastery gets harder to level up as you go on, too. Plus, as you level it up there's a wider distance between the levels at which you'll get the next skill._

"So basically..."

 _It gets tougher as you keep going._

"Like life..." Skull mumbled as he reached the room with the exit portal. Sighing, he got his dagger ready. "Alright, bunny boss, let's do this!"

 _Hey, Skull?_

"What is it?" Skull asked offhandedly as the boss started to appear from the portal. He narrowed his eyes. There was something...off about it this time.

 _There's something I haven't told you._

Now _that_ was a cause for alarm.

"Wait, what do you mean by that?!" Skull asked instantly. "What the hell is going on with this boss?!"

 _Well, you see, along with the normal bosses, the game that is your life also features various_ special _bosses._

"Special bosses?!"

 _There are multiple ways to find a special boss, and, well... One of them just so happens to be defeating a dungeon boss ten times~! They're also much stronger than regular bosses. So have fun with that~!_

"YOU ARE THE WORST KIND OF ASSHOLE!" Skull shouted in anger and disbelief as the special boss finished materializing in front of him. Once his eyes returned to it, his mouth opened in shock. "That is _not_ a bunny... It's... It can't be..."

What came out of the portal was, instead of the fluffy mammal of death that he was used to seeing, a mass of dripping orange slime with giant, glowing crimson red eyes.

"And of course it's a fucking Slime! Of-fucking-COURSE! I mean, why wouldn't it be?! Why WOULDN'T the world take this chance to fucking screw me over?!"

 _Skull, I hate to interrupt your little rant here, but you should probably focus on the giant monster that wants to kill you._

"Huh? Whoa!" Skull yelped and just barely managed to get out of the way as a glob of acid-like slime hit the spot where he was standing on moments before. Turning back around, his eyes widened when he saw the substance literally creating a hole in the floor. "Mother of god..."

 _Might wanna use that handy dagger of yours._

"R-Right!"

One handy thing Skull had learned during his first encounter with the Slime hoard (mostly thanks to Tet taking pity on him and telling him) was that, unlike Knife Throw, he didn't actually have to throw his dagger to initiate Dagger Barrage. This was a very good thing, as he didn't really enjoy having to pull his dagger out of the slimy creature in order to keep fighting. As one might imagine, he was very much pissed at the god for withholding the information.

Pulling out his weapon, he pointed it at the massive Orange Slime, which was slowly making its way closer and closer to him. "Crap... Dagger Barrage!"

Violet lights shimmered around him before all forming into daggers and simultaneously turning in the direction of the boss. Without warning, they each shot towards it...only for the Slime to start faintly glowing orange and a barrier to appear before it, stopping each of them before they all disappeared in burst of purple light.

Skull blinked, startled. "...Okay, that's new." He grew more confused when the Slime suddenly stopped moving and closed it's gaping eyes and mouth. "What the hell's it doing now?"

 _Beats me..._

"You made this game! Shouldn't you of all people know?!"

 _Like I've told you over and over again, I just made the game mechanics and how they work. As for monsters, skills, and all that, the game decides that by itself._

"Ugh, fine, whatever." He raised his dagger once again. "I guess I just gotta try aga-HOLYSHITWHATTHEHELL!"

The Slime's eyes had snapped open, glowing even brighter than before as it opened it's mouth wider than it's body should have been able to allow. Skull barely even had time to dodge as a bright light emanated from the inside of the monster before getting brighter and brighter as it zoomed towards him. Unfortunately, he was unable to completely dodge it and a good chunk of his arm took damage from the beam of light as it continued on past him.

Grimacing at the pain, he turned back only to stare in horror at the tunnel through the forest that the attack had created.

"Holy crap, it _decimated_ everything!" He managed to say before gasping in pain at the intense throbbing in his arm. He quickly looked down at the apendage before immediately regretting it. Even though it was quickly regenerating, seeing the mangled... _thing_ that had once been an arm was anything but pleasant. He winced in pain and disgust and quickly looked away. "Dammit..."

 _Um, just so you know, I'm not good with blood._ Tet's voice sounded a bit queasy.

"Well, _I'm_ not good with pain, but you don't see me complaining about it," Skull groaned as he got back up on his feet. "Besides, it'll be healed in a few minutes."

 _...I can tell that you're used to this. How are you used to this?_

Skull arched an eyebrow and pointed at himself with his uninjured hand. "Stuntman."

 _...Oh, right._

"More importantly, though..." He turned back towards the Slime only to see that it's eyes and mouth were once again closed, preparing another attack. "Shit, not again! DAGGER BARRAGE!"

He watched as the multiple daggers shot towards the monster, only for it to use that same strange technique from before and stopping them with the orange barrier.

"Shit, I can't do anything to it!"

 _Skull didn't you get that sparkly new skill the day before?_

"Sparkly new...Oh, that thing!" He said in realization, quickly opening his skills menu and looking over it again. "Where is it... There!"

 **Dagger Pierce: A stabbing attack that is able to pierce through protective skills for a small amount of damage.**  
 **Power: 10**  
 **MP Cost: 20**

"So, do I have to throw it at him, or..."

 _Nope, you have to get close and stab him with it._

"...Well ain't that just fan-fucking-tastic..." Sighing, he glared at the boss. "Fine, whatever. I've survived too much to get killed by a giant ball of orange c-"

The Slime's eyes shot open and focused on him.

"-rap..." He finished, throwing himself to the side so as to avoid the second energy beam. He wanted to keep his bodyparts, thank you very much.

"Not this time, you bitch!" He shouted as he rolled back onto his feet and charge towards the orange abomination. "DAGGER PIERCE!"

He threw his hand forward and the dagger hit the barrier blade-first. At first, nothing happened. Then, slowly, cracks started to appear around the shield as the knife sunk deeper into it. Within a matter of seconds the previously impenetrable barrier shattered to pieces.

"Hell yeah! Now you-" The Slime's eyes snapped to him, shining brightly in rage. "...Oh, snap."

Without warning, a long, dripping orange tendril shot out of the Slime's body and wrapped tightly around his waist, causing him to yelp as he suddenly found himself held up in midair.

"SINCE WHEN COULD THEY DO THIS NOW?!"

 _Just stay calm! Use your Dagger Barrage or something!_

"R-Right! Okay! I can do that!" He shakily held out his dagger at the Slime, who was opening its gaping mouth and slowly lowering him towards it. Skull's eyes widened. _'Oh dear neptune, it's trying to eat me.'_ "DAGGER BARRAGE!"

Dozens upon dozens of daggers materialized in front of him before all plunging downwards and into the Slime's mouth, disappearing into the darkness. The monster growled in agony as the tendril around Skull's waist loosened before disappearing completely, allowing him to fall hard on the ground.

"Oooooww... For the hundredth time..." He groaned as he forced himself back up.

 _You okay there?_

"I'll live... More importantly, though..." His attention returned to the Slime, who was slowly starting to recover. "Let's just finish this thing off already! Bravery!" He shouted, causing a purple light to envelop him for a few moments before disappearing. "Alright! This is for trying to eat me, you asshole! DAGGER BARRAGE!"

As dagger after dagger plunged into the Slime's goo, fractures started to appear all around its massive body, growing wider and wider as parts of its body disintegrated into nothingness.

As soon as the boss had completely disappeared, Skull fell back onto the ground in a sitting position, letting out a relieved sigh. "Finally... Seriously, screw Slimes and everything they stand for..."

 _So... How's the arm?_

Skull raised his completely healed arm and wiggled his fingers. "It's fine. Nothing I'm not used to. I had Cloud Regeneration from before I even met you, remember?"

 _Right, right. Either way, I'm glad you're okay!_

Skull scoffed. "So you don't have to worry about finding someone else, right?"

 _Well, yes, that too. But you and I are friends now, right? Of course I wouldn't want you to die._

The violet-haired boy blinked slowly. "Wait... We're friends?"

 _Well, yeah. I mean, we're gonna be together for probably the rest of your life, so might as well, right?_

"Well, that's-" Skull cut himself off, eyes widening in horror. "Wait, the rest of my life?!"

 _Of course! You're my first Ability User, so let's make our time together fun, alright~?_

"Goddammit..." Skull groaned in despair, ignoring the alert screen that popped up in front of his face. "Well, it's fine, I guess... Never really had a friend before, though..."

 _...You are like the saddest human I've ever seen._

"...Well, thanks, _friend_ ," Skull shot back sarcastically.

 _I'm just being honest~._

"Screw you _and_ your honesty," Skull muttered before finally looking at the screen.

 **Congratulations! You have beaten the special boss King Orange Slime!**  
 **Reward: Slime**

The future Arcobaleno stared at it in confusion. "Reward...Slime? What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

 _Well, when you defeat a special boss, you get a special reward!_

"Special, huh?" Skull said, getting rid of the screen and looking through his item menu. He frowned in confusion when he saw a strange, orange circle-shaped object labeled "Slime." "So, this is it? What exactly is it?" He asked, reaching out and pressing his finger against it.

 **Would you like to hatch?**

"Hatch? Um, sure, I guess..."

There was a small burst of light as the object popped out of the inventory screen and landed in front of him before staring to shake from side to side. Skull arched an eyebrow at it.

"Hey, is it me or is this thing shaped kind of like an..." He blinked. "...Oh."

The object cracked open and a blinding light enveloped the room, causing Skull to squeeze his eyes shut until it passed. Opening them back up, he was greeted with an Orange Slime with glowing blue eyes staring at him.

Blue and purple stared at each other for a long, long moment before it opened it's mouth and let out a sound similar to a squawk.

 _Your first pet! Congrats~!_

Skull just continued to stare as the Slime started wandering around the room, looking around in a curious manner while only straying a certain distance away from him. He then looked up at the sky in utter anguish.

"Why? Just why?"

 **XXX**

 **Skull does NOT like Slimes at all. XD And now he has one as a pet... I actually almost feel bad for making him so unlucky. XD Rest assured that he will get better pets eventually. XP On the plus side, his and Tet's relationship has gotten slightly better...but Tet will still always troll him. Friendship~! It's magic, folks~!**

 **Next time, the Arcobaleno's first meeting! Will their opinions of him be different this time around?! ...Most likely not. XD Probably the only difference (for now) is that they'll think is a complete weirdo. :P So, from now on, Skull's gonna have both them AND Tet making his life miserable. o.O I should probably be considered evil for making this happen. XD Aw, poor Skull...**


End file.
